U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,525 to Frankeberger et al. discloses a pneumatic fabric conveyor which is used to deliver flexible fabric items from a sorting area or table to receptacles such as sling carts. The discharge end of the conveyor system is provided with bottom outlets that are controlled by flapper valves which direct the fabric items into receptacles arranged in a row beneath the outlets.
Although this construction functions well, it is subject to capacity limitations due to the single row of receptacles that must be located directly below the conveyor tube. Additionally, when a sling cart is full, no more articles can be discharged through the corresponding outlet until the full cart has been moved and replaced by an empty cart. The ability of the system to function efficiently and at a high capacity is reduced as a result of these limitations.